Osaka, Japan - Panasonic System Networks Corporation today announced that it will start licensing from January 2013 its newly-developed, broadband high-speed powerline communication (HD-PLC) technology that is designed to be incorporated into home appliances and suitable for smart house applications. Called HD-PLC*1 Inside, the new technology expands options for HD-PLC technologies, including HD-PLC IEEE 1901*2 Complete which is fully compliant with the IEEE 1901 standard.
The new HD-PLC Inside technology enables to reduce the size of an HD-PLC chip up to about one third of the size of existing HD-PLC IEEE 1901 Complete LSI. HD-PLC Inside also allows for minimizing the microcontroller's communication function and the size of an external memory, helping to lower the total cost of the embedded system. In addition, power consumption can also be reduced up to about one-third of that of an IEEE 1901 compliant HD-PLC 240Mbps class LSI.
With these benefits, the HD-PLC Inside technology offers a platform to achieve safe and stable networking, unique to wired communication, for a wider variety of devices, especially, home appliances and industrial equipment.
The HD-PLC Inside technology can also be applied as a communication infrastructure of ECHONET Lite*3, which is recommended as a standard interface for home networking by Smart House Standardization Committee within the Japan Smart Community Alliance (JSCA)*4. All HD-PLC products that are interoperable with the IEEE 1901 powerline communication specifications, including products using HD-PLC Inside, also comply with the European EN50561-1*5 standard, a new EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) standard for broadband powerline communication products recently approved by the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC).
Panasonic first began licensing its HD-PLC technology in 2010 and has since seen an expansion of the HD-PLC solutions as Japanese LSI makers launched sales of IEEE 1901 compliant HD-PLC chips. HD-PLC modules for embedded systems and HD-PLC adapters are offered in the market as well.
With the addition of HD-PLC Inside, powerline communication is expected to expand further as more HD-PLC equipped products will become available in the market along with the increased offerings of chips supporting the IEEE 1901 standard by LSI makers.
Panasonic will continue to develop HD-PLC systems that can be used in various products as well as promoting the licensing of HD-PLC solutions to manufacturers around the world. By doing so, Panasonic aims to expand the PLC technology and realize both a ubiquitous network society and smart grids that allow electricity usage to be visualized, and power consumption supply and demand to be adjusted.
1. HD-PLC: The name of a high-speed power line communication system created by Panasonic Corporation. HD-PLC is a trademark or registered trademark in Japan and other countries.
2. IEEE 1901: IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is a non-profit, professional organization for the advancement of technology related to electricity and electronics. It is the organization responsible for standards such as Ethernet and wireless LAN.
3. ECHONET Lite: A communication protocol developed by ECHONET Consortium, providing controlling and sensing platforms for smart houses. The consortium is promoting the IOS- and IEC-certified protocol as an international standard.
4. Japan Smart Community Alliance (JSCA): JSCA has members from the electric power, gas, automobile, information and communications, electric machinery, construction and trading industries as well as the public sector and academia. It is working to facilitate the development of a smart community through the collective effort of the public and private sectors as an all-Japan team by planning and implementing activities that benefit Japan's business community.
5. CENELEC EN50561-1: An EMC standard applicable for high-frequency PLC products. It was approved by the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) in November 2012.
About Panasonic
Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products in three business fields, consumer, components & devices, and solutions. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of 7.85 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2012. Panasonic's stock is listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and New York (NYSE: PC) Stock Exchanges. The company has the vision of becoming the No. 1 Green Innovation Company in the Electronics Industry by the 100th year of its founding in 2018. For more information on Panasonic, its brand and commitment to sustainability, visit the company's website at http://panasonic.net/.
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